


Building Bridges

by ximeria



Series: Life of an Engineer [1]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-30
Updated: 2012-03-30
Packaged: 2017-11-02 18:55:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/372234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ximeria/pseuds/ximeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Erik met Charles, it wasn't love at first sight. It wasn't love at second sight either. Actually, it takes a hell of a lot of looking before Erik is ready to admit that maybe, just maybe, the guy's alright.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head, specific scenes for ages. Wanting Erik to work for Tony, wanting him to be more mentally balanced than he ever was in the movies or in the comics (well, as balanced you can make Erik without completely changing his character).

"Whatever it is, I'm not doing it," Erik said, twisting his fingers to lead the thin metal threads in a merry dance around the small energy core.

The door that had just a moment earlier slid open, whooshed shut behind the intruder. "I can't come down here and visit my favorite engineering genius?" Tony asked, walking across the room as if he owned it. Which, of course he did, but this was Erik's little corner, his little domain, where even Tony rarely disturbed him.

"I've just finished the latest project you gave me, I'm winding down and leaving for home in about half an hour," Erik answered, adjusting one of the threads that had gone the wrong way around. "You know this, because I sent you the finalization paper work. This leads me to believe that you are here for _other_ reasons."

"Mr. Lehnsherr, you wound me," Tony said theatrically, hopping up to sit on the edge of Erik's work table. The surface was thankfully pristine, no bits or parts lying about.

Erik flicked his wrist and the small soldering pen lifted from its place on the wall among the other tools and drifted over to join the construction he had floating in front of him. There was only so much his power could do, but small electrical stuff would be better with old fashioned soldering.

"What _are_ you doing?" Tony asked, finally giving into his curiosity.

"If I tell you, will you leave without pestering me with whatever it is you came down here for? " Erik asked, not carrying much hope for it as it were.

"Of course not," Tony said with a snort.

Erik sighed deeply. "There are days where I wonder why I bother," he growled under his breath, though he put very little bite into it.

"You like me and you know it's a good idea to keep your boss happy," Tony laughed.

"God knows why, but yes, I do like you, at least when you don't come down here to mess with me around closing time," Erik said drily.

"I'm not going to mess with your hours today, my friend," Tony said, hopping off the table, straightening his shirt and jacket. "Now Friday night, however..."

Erik groaned. "Friday night?"

"Suit and booze and people with more money than sense," Tony said theatrically.

Erik closed his eyes. "Charity."

"Yes!" Tony barked, laughter echoing through the lab. "But more than just that, I have an old friend of mine coming back from the UK to set up a school just outside New York - and he's dangled some pretty interesting blueprints under my nose."

Erik frowned. "Neither of us are architects," he began.

"That's not what Charles will need us for," Tony said with a shake of his head. "As much as I'd love to dive into the project head first, I have other things on my plate at the moment, as you well know."

Erik nodded. "So you want me to take a look at the plans - though I don't see what it has to do with the charity ball."

"I want you to meet Charles, I want you to come and have fun with me," Tony replied.

Erik rolled his eyes. "You just want to share the misery - you hate those things as much as I do."

"Yup," Tony said with a wink. "I could make it an order, but I'd really rather you'd see it as reconnaissance."

"Scouting out the competition?" Erik asked. He was well aware of how much networking and general world ruling went on during such shindigs.

"He'll have to look around for offers, but I also got the distinctive impression that there's something more to the school than just an ordinary place of learning," Tony said with a shrug.

"You're curious," Erik said, giving up on his project for the night, letting it drift up onto a shelf. Tony gestured at it but Erik shook his head. "When I'm done I'll tell you. not like I'm getting out of that charity thing anyway, is there?"

Tony looked like he might consider pouting, and Erik thought long and hard about hurting him a lot if he did. Thankfully he just shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I can't say that I'm not curious. Charles has been in the UK for five years. Became a professor and has taught in Oxford for the last three."

"So a boring old fart?" Erik could not quite fit that in with the type of people Tony liked to hang around with and he obviously had fond memories of this 'Charles'.

"Good god, no," Tony said with a deep laugh. "Charles is a lot of things, but boring or old are not two of them."

"Genius," Erik then guessed, because that at least fit very well with Tony's taste. "Pretty?" he teased. He knew Tony preferred them long legged and curvy, but he hadn't missed the times where the curves were less so.

"Not my type," Tony said with a small grin, "but yeah, from what I remember, pretty cute."

"So not your type," Erik agreed with a laugh. "So what are you expecting me to do? Are you going to dangle me as bait?"

Tony looked as if he was seriously considering just that, then shook his head. "No, but I think we'd do well in being the ones to get this opportunity and I'd like to see him again."

Erik just stared at him.

"You'll like him, everyone does," Tony promised.

"I don't play well with other, Tony. You know that," Erik said, a last ditch effort to get out of wasting a Friday night around rich people with little sense. "Apart from you, on some days," he added as an afterthought.

"On odd Thursdays, I've noticed," Tony agreed mock seriously.

"I prefer my lab time," Erik said, decidedly not whining.

"I know," Tony said, obviously trying to be soothing. "But as I said, you'll like him."

Erik put the last of his tools away and turned to watch Tony, arms crossed over his chest. "Remember what happened last time you tried to play matchmaker?" he asked.

"You had fun!" Tony said with a shrug.

"It ended in tears," Erik replied drily.

"You had fun, admit it," Tony said stubbornly.

"The destruction tallied a yacht, half the pier and several warehouses," Erik listed.

"And I know I'm in danger of repeating myself," Tony said lightly, "but. You. Had. Fun!"

Erik just glared at him, letting the silence speak for itself.

"Besides, weren't your tears, were they?" Tony asked, giving him his most innocent smile.

Erik drew a deep breath. "You're going to owe me after this."

The only answer that got him was the wide grin on Tony's face and a slap on the shoulder.

**--**--**

Erik grabbed another glass of champagne off a tray as another waiter passed him. It was his fifth glass in less than an hour, but he was slowly going crazy. He had nothing in common with any of these people, maybe apart from Tony, and of course his boss had fucked off earlier with some blonde bimbo on his arm.

At least no one was getting near him anymore - most of them perfectly capable of reading the stiff set of his shoulders and the closed off look on his face.

Most of them. Erik sighed mentally as he watched another woman giving him the elevator look. She was old enough to be his mother and the cloud of perfume hit him before she even addressed him.

"Mr. Lehnsherr," she all but purred.

Erik wondered where the hell she'd learned his name - he wasn't part of the high and mighty circles of New York's society. He managed to give her a smile, or at least he hoped so. Tony would have his head if he ended up scarring someone for life. Then again, maybe Tony would eventually learn his lesson to not drag Erik along for shit like this.

"I am," she began.

"Eloise Dominique," a voice said, sticky sweet from behind her and she turned as fast as her dress allowed it.

Erik tilted his head to the side, wondering who he had to thank for the timely intervention. He watched a surprisingly young man striding up to them, inserting himself seamlessly at Eloise Dominique's side. A little shorter than Erik was, pretty good looking in a sort of cute and harmless way. However, what Erik really noticed a moment later, were the full lips and the blue eyes.

He could have happily stayed there and imagined a lot of dirty things involving those lips, but then of course the newcomer had to ruin it by speaking.

"Lady Dominique," he said, sounding like he was trying to get into her knickers. "How are you, my dear?"

The lady looked mildly confused, then shook her head. "Oh, my dear Mr. Xavier, I am feeling perfectly fine, thank you for asking. How are you this lovely evening?"

Erik looked from one to the other, and he would have made his escape if Xavier hadn't turned his gaze on him for a moment, intense and in a way that made Erik nervous. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"You look a little flushed, Lady Dominique, perhaps a seat by the balcony door and a glass of water?" Xavier asked, voice thick and sweet in a way that made Erik's stomach turn.

She looked a little dazed for a moment, the nodded slowly. "I do believe you are right, my dear. Do excuse me," she said.

"No need to worry, darling," Xavier said, waving over one of the waiters to have him escort the woman away.

Erik almost wanted to thank him, if not for the fact that the move now left him alone with Xavier. Well, as alone as he could get with other people in the room clearly avoiding him, though not exactly hiding the fact that they were staring at him.

"Can't say I blame her for going for you," Xavier said, giving Erik an appreciative look. "You cut a striking figure in a suit."

Erik bit the inside of his cheek. He did not like being hit on by women, but even less so, he wanted to be drooled over by some spoiled, rich kid. A spoiled rich kid who had no sense of personal space. Erik fought the urge to take a step back to put some distance between them, because they were close enough that Erik swore he could feel heat coming off the other man's body.

Xavier leaned in as if to share some secret with Erik, putting his hand on Erik's arm.

"Erik, there you are!"

Erik wasn't sure he had ever been so happy to see his boss.

"Tony?" Xavier turned around and Erik quickly moved his arm to get rid of Xavier's hold on it.

"Charles?" Tony's face lit up and Erik felt his stomach drop. This could only mean one thing. "When did you stop growing?" Tony asked with a laugh, pulling Xavier into a hug.

"Far too early for my taste," Xavier said with a wink.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together and arrive at the fact that this had to be the Charles that Tony had been talking about.

The one he'd been adamant that Erik would like instantly.

Well, wouldn't have been the first time his boss had been wrong about Erik. However, it was a puzzle to Erik how the hell Tony could have ever thought that he could be interested and even _like_ someone as smarmy as Xavier.

Of course, if they were to do paid work for him, Erik would have to be on his best behavior.

He'd flay Tony alive later.

"Charles, this is Erik Lehnsherr, the engineer I told you about in the last email," Tony was telling Xavier.

Xavier held out his hand and for a split second Erik considered just ignoring it. Then again, that would be childish and less than professional of him. And he refused to be anything but professional and detached with this man.

No matter how much Tony had thought they'd hit it off.

"A pleasure," Charles said, looking up at Erik with his wide eyes and soft mouth as Erik took his hand.

Erik was not impressed. "Pleasure's all mine, Mr. Xavier," he replied evenly. Possibly he'd come across too docile, because he didn't miss the arched eyebrow from Tony. Erik let go of Xavier's hand, making an effort of not pulling his hand away too fast.

"Thanks for sending me the blueprints," Tony said to him. "I can't figure out what the hell you'd need all that for in a school, but then again, you didn't send me all of it, did you?"

"Of course not, Tony," Xavier said with a soft laugh. "First of all, there are people I don't want seeing the details and second of all, I just wanted to give you an idea of what it was I needed."

"People?" Erik asked before he could stop himself.

"Yes, Mr. Lehnsherr," Xavier said, never for a moment losing his almost sugary tone of voice. "I'm opening a school and I'd like it to go under the radar of ...certain people."

Erik frowned. 

"If you say yes to the assignment, you'll get a lot more information," Xavier continued, apparently thinking that was the perfect bait to lure them in.

Well, it worked on Tony.

"Charles, send me more, I want to get an idea of what exactly it is you want made, and I want to have Erik go over it as well," Tony said, "if it's okay with you."

Xavier shot Erik a long, intense look, then nodded slowly. "Yes, it..."

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" a voice broke their little meeting and Erik allowed himself to sink back, away from the two jetsetters as they were caged in by yet another couple of rich bastards.

Erik turned and made his exit quiet and quickly, still unsettled by Xavier. The man had not only managed to come on to him in less than half a minute, he'd also made Erik feel as if he was being studied under a microscope. A feeling that never failed to make his hackles rise.

Erik walked down the hallway and finally found a room with a balcony, onto which he went and drew a deep, freeing breath. Patting his pockets he sighed. He'd forgotten his cigarettes.

Oh well, he was trying to quit anyway, although, quite frankly, he could do with a smoke right at that moment.

Leaning against the metal railing, he could feel the structure of the whole building, drew a little strength and calm from it. One of the reasons why Erik liked living in New York was the sheer amount of metal in buildings, used in the construction of virtually everything. The rails and the trains of the subway crisscrossing underground...

To Erik it was like closing his eyes and soothingly running his fingers along strings of energy.

Feeling more centered he had to consider what he'd do when Tony brought the plans up again. Because it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of _when_. Not that he minded a challenge, because he did like having those in his work, but for some reason, Xavier just... made him feel off. And no project would be worth the stomach acid Erik knew this would produce.

Erik hadn't been kidding when he'd said he didn't play well with others. He managed quite well as project manager, even better when he had smaller assignments he could work on by his lonesome. It seemed Tony agreed, because a lot of those projects tended to land on Erik's desk. Erik reached out with his power, a lingering touch to the metal in the vicinity.

He'd just have to make sure that no matter what argument Tony pulled out, he wouldn't be swayed.

**--**--**

"Erik, could you," Tony began, cutting himself off with a grunting noise.

Erik rolled his eyes, but caught the metal structure and twisted the plate to fit it a little better. "I thought you'd shelved the suit project," he said, shooting Tony's 3D model of a quick look and bending the metal plate to the exact degree.

"Thanks," Tony said, breathlessly twisting his shoulder to get the plate to fit a little better. "I had but I realized last night, that there were a few things I hadn't tried."

Erik watched as Tony detached the rest of the suit parts. He stepped in to help with a smaller piece that had gotten stuck. Putting his hand on Tony's chest, he could feel the sheer power of the reactor core embedded in Tony's chest.

"Just... be careful," he said quietly. "I don't think Pepper would ever forgive me if I let you get yourself killed."

Tony patted his hand. "I know, don't worry, I'm taking my precautions."

Erik just looked at him.

"I'll let you review the safety protocols?" Tony tried.

Erik allowed his lips to curve up into a small smile.

"Fucking mother hen, is what you are," Tony muttered, but without any real heat.

Erik didn't even bother answering that one, but he did remove his hand.

"I've got something I want you to see, by the way," Tony said, putting the plates down on the table.

"Yeah?" Erik moved with him to the 3D holographic model. He waited while Tony folded the model into a ball and bounced the image into the security folder, then dragged another file forward.

"What the hell is that?" Erik asked, leaning forward to turn the model of a strange looking room. It was completely sphere shaped.

"I have no idea what it's for, but look at the specs," Tony breathed.

"All the plating, all metal and all... apparently in a very specific pattern," Erik muttered under his breath. "And this?"

"I don't know what it's for either," Tony said happily, "but look at this, the suggestions for material would mean it could take impacts, high energy ones - and absorb some pretty extreme blasts, not to mention heat. Plasma, laser, you name it."

Erik nodded. "Why and where are we building it?"

Tony didn't answer and suddenly Erik just knew he'd walked right into a trap.

"Xavier," was all he said.

"Yup," Tony said with a laugh. "I take it I have the attention of your sulking teenage attitude?"

"Oh, shut up," Erik said with a resigned growl.

"What exactly is it you don't like about Charles?" Tony asked curiously. "I mean, you put up with me."

"You're my boss, I have to," Erik deadpanned.

"And Charles is a friend of mine, much easier to get along with and not to mention, a potential client," Tony told him evenly.

Erik took a deep breath. "Promise me one thing," he said, because he knew that he was going to say yes, but he really needed to set some boundaries. At least that he'd learned from working with Tony.

"Sure," Tony said, folding the files into the virtual folder marked X.

"This is _not_ one of your harebrained ideas to play matchmaker," Erik intoned. "I have never figured out _why_ you occasionally think I'd want your help and why I would even need anyone like that."

Tony stared at him, then turned back to compressing the file folder and attaching it to an email. He didn't send it though. "Is it so bad that I think your attitude and occasional bad temper could be helped with a good lay?"

"Yes," Erik said, leaning on the table. "Tony, I, like you, am married to my job and the love I have for engineering and R&D does not leave much room for other people, also, you know, because I've told you time and time again, I just don't have a high sex drive - so I don't feel like I need it."

Tony nodded slowly. "You're just so high strung sometimes," he argued.

"Unlike you, I don't have to have sex to get rid of it," Erik told him with a laugh. "You know I take an hour in the gym and beat the shit out of a sandbag or one of the practice drones and I can promise you, it does more for me than a one night stand ever could."

"Alright," Tony agreed. "I can promise you that I am not trying to set you up with Charles. I'd love for you to like him, because like you, he's my friend, one I have very fond memories of." He held his finger over the send icon. "I also think this project is right up your alley, not to mention, since I can't do it myself at the moment, I want my best man on the job."

Erik let his head fall forward. "Okay, I'll trust you on that one, then," he said. "and as I don't have any other major projects on my table at the moment and you're right, it does look interesting..."

Tony shot him a blinding grin, tapping the send icon. "Well, if you find any free time in between let me know - I could use your input on the new suit designs."

Erik laughed. "Sure, Tony. Anything to keep you from killing yourself."

"Pepper would never forgive either of us," Tony lamented.

"Exactly," Erik agreed.

**--**--**

Erik transferred the phone number from Tony's email to his phone and put it on speaker as the dial tone bleated through the air. He pulled up the blueprints from its new folder along with his own notes. Not the high detailed ones, just the ones that he might need during the conversation.

The phone was picked up and _"Yeah?"_ someone said from the other end.

Erik looked at the phone for a moment, hands stilling in the air. "Is this Xavier's School?" Erik asked. It was possible that the phone number wasn't the right one.

 _"Yeah, sorry, it is,"_ came the reply. _"Or it will be, eventually. I'm Alex."_

Erik raised an eyebrow. If he were to guess from the voice, he wasn't dealing with an adult, probably more a teenager. "My name is Erik Lehnsherr, I'm calling from Stark Enterprises. I was asked to set up a meeting with Mr. Xavier about the additions to the school."

 _"Erm, yeah, the professor's not here right now,"_ Alex said.

Erik could almost hear the desperation in his voice now. "Everything alright?"

There was a soft chuckle at the other end, tension lessening a little. _"Yeah, sorry. The professor had to check up on one of the guys - who's had a bit of an accident."_

"Nothing too bad, I hope," Erik said, wondering how many students were already at the school. He hadn't thought there'd be any until the rebuilding was done. That would add to the work load of course, having to work around children.

 _"Nah, Sean's pride's more bruised than his ass,"_ Alex said before he could stop himself. _"Sorry, but yeah, it's alright, I know Charles' schedule so I can pencil you in if you want."_

Erik stopped again, staring over at the phone. "Alright." It would mean he'd have to wait with anymore changes to the project until he'd actual met with Xavier. He'd hoped he might have time to answer some questions over the phone, but apparently not. "When would the earliest time be?"

There was a moment of silence at the other end as Erik could hear typing being done. _"If you don't mind the short notice, you could come out..."_ There was a muted explosion somewhere in the background and an unmistakable sigh from Alex. _"Tomorrow at noon?"_

Erik debated with himself whether or not to ask Alex what was going on, but he got the feeling that he wouldn't get a satisfying answer. "Sounds good, the address is the one I have on Greymalkin Lane?"

 _"Yeah,"_ Alex said, _"If you're using GPS you might get a bit of trouble hitting the side entrance we're currently using, but I'll send you over the specific coordinates for that one."_ There was another moment of typing and Erik's phone beeped.

Erik tapped into the phone from his main display and nodded when he saw the coordinates and navigation directions displaying themselves. The kid might just be that, a kid, but he wasn't too shabby with tech. "Yes, I've got it," Erik told him. "Tomorrow at 10."

 _"I'll let Charles know,"_ Alex said before hanging up.

"So much for getting more information," Erik muttered under his breath. He had hoped to get a little more to go on. As it was, his notes seemed to have a lot of holes in them, lack of information. He pulled another blueprint up, the one of the sphere shaped room. "What is it you would need a room like this for, with such carefully calculated specifics?"

Swapping it with another blueprint, he stared at an underground room. A bunker that could, strictly speaking be seen as a bunker, but the materials requested, or rather, expected for the walls and floor... it added up to some pretty weird thinking, because the surface would be able to absorb large amounts of energy, laser, even plasma.

There was also the nightmare of making any or all of this happen, because the house had to retain its structural integrity and judging by the blueprints, it was a damned big house already.

"Well, Mr. Xavier, your flirting did nothing to me, but you definitely have my attention now," Erik mumbled, adding a few more questions to his notes, to the ever expanding list of things he really needed to know about this project before he could give an estimated timeline as well as a price. Not to mention hiring the right construction crews and general project planning.

**--**--**

Erik pulled up through the smaller entrance along the estate and realized that quite frankly, he could probably put any price down on the project, because the guy had to be loaded.

The huge mansion loomed in front of Erik as he pulled his car over to the side. There was one other car sitting in the drive way as well, but that was it. Of course, Erik could see a shut garage door off to the right and considering the width of it, if there were vehicles in there, there was room for quite a few.

Erik checked his watch. Five to 12. He was actually glad that Alex had warned him the previous day that he would be better off using the side entrance. It would have been hard to find without help and from what he could see of the main driveway in, it looked like a huge worm had frolicked underneath it. No way was anyone getting a car across that unless it was an off-roader.

Considering that Erik had stopped making guesses as to the use of the changes for the house, the same questions now returned to bug him. The house was not exactly what he'd expected from a school, unless someone mentioned a boarding school or some such. While the blueprints had shown him a lot, it was, seemingly, only a small part of it all.

Walking up to the entrance, Erik rang the doorbell. There was no answer from the other side, but Erik figured it might take a while for anyone to get the door. Of course, judging from the place, it was possible he should be expecting an old fashioned English butler at the door.

Erik raised his hand to ring the doorbell again, then stopped, taking a quick step back as the door was pulled open.

"Oh, sorry," Xavier said, blinking in the stark sunshine. "The doorbell doesn't work."

Erik just stared at him. He had only seen Xavier in a suit, but in front of him it was like a whole different man. Well-fitting jeans, walking boots and a t-shirt with a gene joke printed across the chest. Erik wondered, if the doorbell wasn't working how then, Xavier had known he was there. He realized a moment later, that Xavier was letting a visitor out, so that would explain it. He gave the woman Xavier was letting out a once over. Not too bad, although he wasn't interested.

"Moira, this is Erik Lehnsherr, he's here about the changes we need to do to the house, Mr. Lehnsherr, this is Moira MacTaggert, a friend and partner in getting this school up and running," Xavier said.

MacTaggert met his gaze easy enough, and she gave him a quick nod. "Do remember to sign the papers and have them sent to me no later than Friday, Charles. There's still a lot of paperwork to get done."

A noise escaped Xavier, but he did smile good naturedly. "I know, it seems there's no end to it."

"You're the one who wants a school more than anything else, Charles," MacTaggert said with a small laugh and a quick wave goodbye as she headed towards the other car in the driveway.

"She's right," Xavier said with a shrug, gesturing for Erik to enter the house. "I just hadn't expected all the bloody paperwork."

Erik merely nodded. There was an air to Xavier that threw him more than a little. However, he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Right, let's have a look at what you've got, Mr. Lehnsherr. Alex said there were some things you wanted to go over," Xavier said, leading Erik down a hallway to a lovely library that was obviously serving as office to the professor. The large windows had been thrown open to let in the early summer breeze.

"I have brought some suggestions. While I have to admit I was intrigued by the blueprints, there are more than a few of them that will need changes done to them," Erik said, putting his tablet on the table and bringing up the notes. He'd opted for the experimental tablet model that Tony had been working on that allowed him to pull up the prints as a 3D hologram.

Xavier didn't even blink.

"First of all, not that I need to know why, but I consider half of these requirements very odd for a school," Erik continued, holding up a hand when Xavier opened his mouth to answer. "Which is fair enough, but there are more than a few parts here that need extra work. Depending on the data I've made a list of the information that I'll need, there's more than one part of the mansion that will need extra support, or the changes will damage the structural integrity."

Xavier nodded. "I had feared that. None of us have any particular skills regarding architecture and engineering and while we can list what we'd like to do, bringing the house down around our ears in the process is not an option."

"Which would be why you asked Mr. Stark for help," Erik said.

"I mentioned it to Tony and he said he had the right kind of man in mind," Xavier admitted. "I didn't know when we met at the charity that it was you, though," he continued with a shrug and a slight coloring of his cheeks.

"I take it you wouldn't have come on to me quite so much if you had?" Erik said, joking though he'd really not liked it when it had happened.

"That would be putting it mildly," Xavier agreed good naturedly. "Now, show me what you would need to make changes to and what information you would need access to."

Erik pulled out his notes and began.


	2. Chapter 2

After a couple of hours a few sandwiches and a lot of revisions and Xavier dancing around his answers, there was a knock to the door.

"Enter," Xavier called out, passing a sheet of paper listing the new materials they had agreed on so far to Erik.

"Sorry to disturb you, Charles," a young blonde woman said, leaning against the door jamb. "I know you said you didn't want to be disturbed, but I think you might want to know that the boys have decided they can tackle that old rusty antenna behind the house on their own."

A deep sigh escaped Xavier. "Thanks Raven. Oh, Raven, this is Erik Lehnsherr, you know Tony's engineer, that I mentioned yesterday?"

Raven gave him a small wave and an appreciative look.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, this is my sister Raven," Xavier said. "And if you'll excuse us for a moment, we have to go put a stop to some reckless behavior."

Erik merely nodded and looked through the list. "It's alright, I'll just keep working on this."

Alone in the room, Erik sat back and shook his head. It was possible that he'd need to go looking for the pod, because the man he'd just spent hours working alongside was nothing like the pompous flirty ass he'd met at the charity.

If not for that meeting, he would probably have found Charles Xavier a lovely person even with all the secrets. Erik stared down at the blueprints. He'd been given little more in the way of information and while he'd said so himself, that he was there to solve Xavier's problems, not to snoop, it still irked him that he couldn't figure out what it was Xavier needed all these things for. Quite frankly, Erik had seen military bases with less hardware and security measures than what Xavier was obviously after.

Erik leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting his awareness of metal fan out to encompass the entire house. He didn't normally hold himself back, but the place would have enough metal around to distract him and it had been the last thing he'd wanted to be around Xavier.

Even if the man had proven to be a far more compelling person than Erik would have ever dreamed.

Erik stood to stretch his legs as his phone went off. With a small smile he picked it up and said: "Hello Ms. Potts."

 _"Mr. Lehnsherr,"_ her no nonsense voice greeted him. _"I am glad I caught you. Mr. Stark has just let me know that he will be in Washington for a few days and that you are to take whatever you need to fulfill your current project out of them Stark vaults."_

"I'm not far enough to know if I'll need any of Tony's high tech gadgets," Erik replied, walking over to the glass doors that led outside. He pushed them open and walked out onto a small paved terrace with stone steps leading further down onto the grassy field.

 _"At least you sound more positive about it now than this morning,"_ Potts said drily.

Erik didn't bother hiding his grin or keeping it out of his voice. "Are you calling me a whiny little baby, Ms. Potts?"

There was a soft snort from the other end of the line. _"I take it Mr. Xavier is as you expected?"_ she asked.

"That's just the thing, he's nothing like the other night when we first met," Erik admitted.

 _"Is that good or bad?"_ Potts enquired.

"Oh, I don't know," Erik said quietly as he walked along the house, feeling out it's metal structure under mortar and brick.

_"Erik... is anything wrong?"_

Erik allowed himself a small laugh. "Everything's okay," he promised her. He felt sorry that he'd worried her in any way. "It's just... I can't quite get a grip on his personality and there's more red tape here than on most other things I've worked on."

 _"You told me that he had been too much the other night, that he seemingly had no boundaries and acted the rich, and I quote 'asshole' which we both know sets your teeth on edge,"_ Potts said quietly. 

"He was," Erik agreed. "And it's seriously so far from how he's been since I arrived here. He's been nice, not crossed any boundaries." Erik let his mind wander to a mental image of Xavier sitting at the desk, looking tired, but still managing to be enthusiastic with every change Erik suggested.

It was possible that Erik had felt oddly at ease around him today and that alone put him on edge.

 _"Some people have a facade they seem to insist on keeping up in public,"_ Potts said. _"Someone once told Tony that he came across as a stuck up asshole, who kept an insecure, if quite decent man buried deep inside. Always hiding behind money, power and attitude."_

"I know," Erik replied sullenly.

_"Tony almost fired you for that, Erik."_

Erik didn't answer that one. He knew that. However, he'd been so frustrated with not knowing where he had Tony, who occasionally fluctuated wildly between mad genius and annoying asshole. He still did, but Erik had gotten so much better at seeing through it all.

 _"He came to me, to get me to fire you,"_ she chuckled.

"And yet, I'm still here," Erik said with a soft smile. It had been less than three months into his probation period, but Tony had somehow managed to set him on edge in a way that he'd lost all self control.

It wasn't an uncommon feeling around Tony, if Erik was being honest.

 _"I told him I'd do no such thing,"_ Potts said. _"However, I offered to draw up your actual contract for a full time position with Stark Enterprises, add an annual bonus and have it on his desk for signing within the hour."_

"So that's how the bonus came into play," Erik mutter with a small grin.

 _"You're still here,"_ Potts said softly. _"He counts you among his closest friends - and he has very few people he's even willing to consider friends at all. You gave him the benefit of doubt, you managed to see through him."_ She paused for a moment. _"Did it ever occur to you that maybe your Mr. Xavier is a little like that?"_

"I don't know," Erik admitted quietly as he turned a corner. He could feel a strange, bare metal structure that seemed to be moving in a strange way. The metal almost seemed to be warping. "With Tony I found purchase of a sort, recognized some of his insecurities. With Xavier..."

_"I know you, Erik. You can't leave a puzzle well enough alone and this sounds like nothing less than a big one."_

Erik kept silent. His attention partly on her words and partly on that strange swaying of the metal from somewhere up ahead.

_"Let's see if it's not actually worth the effort in the end, Erik. If nothing else, the three years you've been here, I can't remember having seen you so enthusiastically throwing yourself into a work related project."_

Erik nodded, although she couldn't see it. "Ms. Potts, what would we do without you?" he said with a small laugh. He knew especially Tony would be lost without her many timely interventions. And he would be a liar if he claimed she hadn't saved his ass a few times.

 _"Perish the thought, Mr. Lehnsherr,"_ she said drily.

"Thank you," Erik said quietly, waiting for her good bye before he hung up and dropped the phone in his pocket.

The feeling of the metal warping almost slapped him in the face. Before he knew it, he was running, rounding the next corner of the mansion just in time to watch the old metal structure of an antenna warp as two of the original four wires keeping it in place snapped and whipped around like a couple of snakes, one of them heading directly for a young man who had no chance of getting out of the way.

Letting his awareness move out to brush the metal on all body moving in the vicinity, Erik reached out and held the metal in place. It was far bigger than what he handled on a daily basis, but adrenaline pumped through his body, knowing that if he let go someone could get hurt.

Slowly, as slowly as possible, Erik let the antenna bend away from them, slowly enough to allow the two remaining wires to simply bend with it. The strain was making all his muscles ache, made his body sing and his mind feel as if it was expanding.

Finally he could feel the metal touching the ground and he made sure that the broken wires coiled themselves out of the way.

The absolute silence around him made him draw in a deep breath.

"Oh my god, he's a mutant," someone said. Erik barely turned his head, realizing it had come from Charles' sister.

Oh well, he'd actually thought Tony might have shared that little piece of information with Xavier, but the man looked as surprised as the others did.

Two younger men came up to them, one of them blonde, the other with a shock of red hair.

Erik wondered for a moment what the next move would be. The ball was sort of in Xavier's court. Erik wasn't keeping his abilities a secret as such, but he braced himself for the inevitable mistrust and fear. Just because he was used to Tony's and Pepper's easy acceptance of his powers, it didn't mean that he didn't occasionally come across the prejudice from other humans.

Turning around, what surprised Erik the most, was the look on Xavier's face. Utter surprise mixed with...

"Charles, stop drooling," Raven whispered a little louder than strictly necessary.

Xavier held up a hand, then shook his head, then laughed. "Just a second," he said to Erik, moving around him, for a moment not taking his eyes off Erik, not even blinking, then turning his attention to the others.

"Sean, Alex," he said, pointing at the two boys. "What did I say about attempting this on your own?"

The blond kid scratched the back of his head, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry, professor."

Erik realized he recognized the voice. So that would be Alex then, leaving the other boy to be Sean.

"I told you to wait until Darwin and Angel returned tomorrow," Xavier said, glaring at the both of them.

Erik wondered if maybe now would be a good time to slip away.

_'Please don't, please stay, yes?'_

The voice inside his head startled Erik and he stared at Xavier who was busy chewing out the boys.

_'I can multitask, but please, please, please tell me you'll stay?'_

"You were lucky Mr. Lehnsherr is so good at using his powers or one of you could have gotten hurt," Charles went on.

Erik took a deep breath. He didn't in general like telepaths, didn't like feeling so exposed.

 _'I don't normally read people's minds, my friend. Don't you think if I'd read you mind before now, I'd have known you were a mutant?'_ Xavier asked. _'Besides, right now, you're almost shouting at me loud enough to give me a headache - which I don't need on top of these two.'_

Calming himself down, Erik put up every mental defense he had ever learned. It wouldn't protect him from a powerful telepath, but it might be enough...

 _'Thank you, much appreciated,'_ Xavier told him.

"Raven, would you take our guest back to the office?" Xavier asked.

"Absolutely," Raven replied, gesturing for Erik to follow her.

Erik did as asked, falling into step with Charles' sister, his head filled with questions.

"I can't believe that you're a mutant," Raven said, casting sideways glances at him that had Erik sighing internally.

"I actually thought Tony had told your brother," Erik admitted with a shrug. "I don't do around hiding what I am, but I don't use it as a business card either."

"I guess you didn't know about us either," Raven said with a shrug. "It's not that we're hiding as such, but I'll let Charles explain it all to you. We don't always see eye to eye." The last was added with a deep sigh.

"I have to admit, considering that it's not a crime being born a mutant," Erik began.

"Well, I can see some of Charles' reasons," Raven cut him off. "But I'll let him defend those on his own."

Erik shrugged. He had to admit that he was curious now. Even more than he'd been earlier. A chuckle from Raven pulled him back to the present. "What's so amusing?" he asked as he followed her back through the glass doors into the office.

"I just realized who you are," she all but crowed. "Charles put the moves on you a few nights ago, didn't he?"

Erik shot her a startled look. "What makes you ask that?"

"Oh, oh-ho, my dear brother," she said with a laugh. "He's on his way and he's going to kill me for bringing that up. And before you ask, yes he knows I just asked you. So did he? He told me he'd run into this gorgeous guy and probably put his foot in his mouth..."

"Raven!" Xavier burst through the open door, obviously fighting to make it look as if he hadn't run the last bit of the way in near blind panic.

Raven merely laughed and made her escape. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lehnsherr," she called over her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," Xavier said, cheeks a lightly flushed.

"I don't have any siblings," Erik admitted, highly amused by their antics, "but from what I can tell, you're supposed to be annoyed by them."

"Well, Raven does a very good job," Xavier said with a small huff of a laugh.

Erik fought down more than just a little amusement, along with the unwelcome curl of attraction. He had decided the night they had met that he was not going to fall for Xavier's heavy-handed flirting.

"I did put my foot in my mouth the other night," Xavier admitted, gesturing for Erik to sit down. "And I'll be apologizing for it for a long time."

"It's alright," Erik said, realizing he meant it. "Nothing we can't work our way through."

A pleased flush colored Xavier's cheeks. "Thank you, my friend. Now, I take it you have questions beyond the requirements for the job."

Erik nodded.

"Let me explain first what it is we're trying to build here," Xavier said. Taking a deep breath he gestured around him. "Raven and I have been discussing opening a school for young mutants for years. Mainly to create a sanctuary for those who need it, and to offer a place to learn and hone their powers."

Erik gestured for him to continue. It wasn't a bad idea, as such.

"As you said to Raven, being a mutant is no crime, but if we were to publicly flaunt what we're doing here, it's possible we would never get the project off the ground," Xavier said with a sigh. "The public in general isn't aware of some of the people opposing mutant rights. More than a few people fear us and fail to see human beings, young people, children who need training to avoid causing problems for themselves and others."

"So you're going to hide them away here?" Erik asked. It didn't sit well with him to think about kids...

"Not as such," Xavier said. "I'm trying hard not to lie about the school, but still keeping it low enough to go under the radar of people like Senator Kelly and his accomplice, General Stryker."

"I think Tony's mentioned Stryker at one point," Erik said slowly, "as far as I remember, in less than flattering terms."

Xavier laughed softly. "I'm not surprised, Stryker rubs most people the wrong way."

"So, you're trying to sneak rebuilds of the house in that will aid you in your training of young mutants and try to make it look like you're not hiding anything," Erik summed up.

"It may sound like a stupid thing to do..." Xavier began.

"No," Erik cut him off. "It's an amiable goal," he agreed, "but it's a tight line you're walking."

"I know," Xavier said, sinking into the overly large office chair.

"However," Erik continued, waiting until Xavier looked up again. "I like the idea, and I know Tony will support it as well. And you have the official technology from Stark Enterprises and the unofficial extra aid I can offer."

Xavier stood from his chair, rounding the desk to come to a standstill in front of Erik. "That, Mr. Lehnsherr, is the best offer I've had in a very long time." He held out his hand and Erik stood to take it, bringing himself well within Xavier's personal space, though the man didn't seem to mind.

"You just need to get out more," Erik joked, not capable of stopping himself. For all his bitching to Pepper about Xavier, he was quickly softening to the man's charms and determination.

Xavier laughed, and rolled his eyes, but he nodded and let go of Erik's hand, leaving him feeling... a kind of loss at that.

**--**--**

Erik looked up from his work table, the whole surface taken up by a 3D model of what he'd privately dubbed the danger room when he had first seen the drawings. "Yeah?" Normally the only one who would interrupt him in the lab was Tony, and Tony had never learned to knock.

"Hey, okay if I come in?"

Erik stared in surprise. "Sure, come on in." He straightened up. "Is something wrong?" He had sent Xavier some questions the previous night, but he hadn't expected him to show up to answer them, so maybe...

"Everything's alright," Xavier assured him. "I was just meeting with my lawyers for some paperwork and since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I thought I'd drop in and answer the questions you sent me last night in person. And if any more have crept up, help with those as well."

Erik nodded. "Sure," he agreed, waving Xavier over to the table. It was a little strange that he could tell the suit Xavier was wearing was far more business than the one he had worn on the night they had first met. It wasn't half as sexy as that one, but it screamed seriousness so Erik figured it made sense. Of course he had also seen the man in his home, wearing jeans and a gene joke t-shirt, so it merely added another layer to him.

Not that Erik's interest in Xavier was anything but professional. It was merely an observation.

"Are these the original blueprints?" Xavier asked, taking his jacket off and hanging it over the back of a chair. He reached up and loosened his tie with a relieved sigh. "And please, call me Charles, because I'm kind of tired of formality at the moment."

Erik allowed his mouth to quirk up into a small grin. "I can imagine." Taking a deep breath, he wondered if informal was the right way to go. It would blur the lines between them as client and project manager.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, I would dearly love to be on first name base with you, but if you find it less than professional," Xavier said, voice even and emotionless.

"No, it's alright," Erik said, holding up a hand. "We'll be working side by side for a while and we may as well do this informally."

"Erik, then," Xavier says, a wide grin on his face.

"Charles," Erik nodded in agreement. Slippery slope, he thought to himself.

The wide grin softened and Charles gestured at the virtual 3D model. "So, blueprints?"

Erik nodded. "Yes, I was looking at some of it, but I've still got a few blanks as to what the rooms are for. Specifically the sphere shaped one you want here," he pointed to a section underground. "I mean, if you really want to keep it a secret, alright, but if you want my input on it before we start building..."

"No," Charles said, breathing in deeply. "It's okay. You know I'm a telepath. Hank, one of my former students, has created the plans for a machine that will amplify my ability."

Erik turned his head slowly. "Why would you need that for a school?" There was no situation, he could think of, where amplifying telepathy could possibly be of use to a school.

"We can't... advertise for students with mutant powers," Charles said quietly, "but with Cerebro, that's the name Hank has given it, I can locate mutants."

"Seriously?" Erik stared at him. The implications, what it could be used for in the wrong hands. "Charles, if that machine fell into the hands of anti mutant groups, or the military," he began.

"Don't worry," Charles said, "we've made several smaller prototypes and one of the first security measures we took, was that it cannot be used by anyone but me." Charles paused for a moment, then continued. "Not all parents are pleased to realize that their child is a mutant, some mutant children are bounced around in the social system, foster homes etc. Alex I found with the first prototype we made." Charles trailed off, finally looking up and meeting Erik's eyes. "He was in voluntary isolation after almost killing another kid in juvenile detention."

"You might have found him even without the machine," Erik argued.

"But would it have been in time? As it were, it took a hell of a lot of work to get him out of there," Charles admitted. "If I'd found him later, it could have been too late, it might have been impossible to get him out."

"So you are mainly going to search for the lost kind?" Erik asked, wondering for a moment if Charles was aiming for sainthood.

"No, of course not," Charles said with a small laugh. "The school will be open to students from all backgrounds. If they need our help, they will get it. I've met mutants who had either perfect control or their powers weren't dangerous, but Erik. There are kids out there who, when they manifest, could damage or kill others."

"And you can't let that happen," Erik finished for him, understanding to a certain point. His own powers had not come about violently, but he could imagine some of the ways a mutation could manifest... "You mentioned Alex, what is his ability?"

"Plasma rings, and his aim is... let's just say it's a work in progress," Charles said with a sigh.

Erik winced. "Alright, I can see why that might become complicated."

"And I want to use the machine to look for his brother as well," Charles admitted. "We don't know what his abilities are, or if he's even a mutant, all we know is he went into a different foster home than Alex did but it's like a maze trying to find him."

Erik shook his head, smiling a little. "You're a dreamer," he said before he could stop himself. Charming, a dreamer. So not his style anyway, not his type, not... When Charles dipped his head and his cheeks flushed, as he shrugged, Erik realized he might possibly be more than a little screwed.

"Let's have a look at it, and if you want, I'll help you build that section personally. The fewer involved in that project, the better," Erik said, forcing it all back on track.

"Thank you, my friend, that is music to my ears," Charles said as he turned to give the changes Erik had suggested his full attention.

**--**--**

Erik wiped his brow, lifting the bottle of water to his lips and greedily draining it. "McCoy," he called out when he put the empty bottle down. "I'm not sure we can do much more before we've run a few tests."

"I'll get Charles down here," McCoy said, taking a deep drink of his own bottle, scrubbing his clawed fingers through the blur fur on top of his head, making it stand up even more.

"Are you telling me you run early tests _live_ on him?" Erik asked with a frown. Not that he fully understood what the machine did, but it did not sound like a particularly safe way to do things. McCoy was a hell of a smart kid, but he tended to lose a bit of his sensibilities when focused on science.

"It's not as if there are a lot of other telepaths around to do the testing for me," Charles said from the door.

Erik turned around and once again it struck him how natural and relaxed Charles looked in a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. "It still doesn't sound safe," he argued. "And... I don't know how to put this, but the room feels off."

Charles gestured at the paneled sphere surrounding them where they were standing on a long metal walkway that reached into the exact center of it. "What do you mean, off?"

Erik shrugged. "I can't explain it."

"May I?" Charles asked, wriggling his fingers at his temple.

It took Erik a moment to get it. He wanted to say no, but the uneasy feeling from the room was strong enough to shut him up. "Alright, just don't... poke around," he said gruffly.

 _'I appreciate it, my friend, and I know you don't like it, but you'll have to lead me in the right direction,'_ Charles said in his head.

Erik focused on the feeling, trying to bring it to the forefront of his mind.

"That's it," Charles mumbled. "Like soured milk?"

Erik shot him a quick look. "I don't know if that's really it, but yeah, it's a description as good as any."

"Right, I'm out again," Charles told him. "Now, if I put this on," he said, lifting the helmet up, the bared wires gleaming in the flood lights they were using.

"You look like an overgrown lab rat," Erik said with a snort. "I'm still not convinced it's a good idea, but if McCoy thinks he's got it under control..."

"I do," McCoy called from the monitor he had hooked up to the machine. "Besides, we'll run it on a low setting."

Erik shook his head, but he still stepped back. They were making great headway overall and the sphere shaped room that had first been done in concrete and then lined with thin metal plates was pretty much done, leaving the final technological tweaks up to McCoy. And Erik was almost sad that the faster they worked, the sooner he would have no excuse to hang around. For the first time in ages, he had a project that he enjoyed working on and although he enjoyed his job in general, he was a goal oriented person.

Charles put the helmet on with a wink and closed his eyes to focus. A frown marred his face. "I think you might be right, Erik," he said, "compared to the old Cerebro, it's a bit like trying to hear through cotton."

"That's odd," McCoy said, checking his readings.

Erik twitched. "It's like there's a dissonance in the metal," he said, suddenly realizing that that was it, why he'd recognized something was off.

"Can you locate it?" Charles asked curiously.

"I think so," Erik said, closing his eyes and letting his awareness of the metal fill his mind. It was like smoothing a hand over the surface. "Ah, think I've got it. Hang on a second." One of the plates, no, two of them had warped during the installation. And been swapped, which would explain the dissonance. Erik opened his eyes again, disengaging the two plates in question from their moors, keeping the bolts hovering in place as he swapped the two plates and reattached them. "Better?" he asked.

"Quite a lot, yes," Charles said, sounding thrilled. "Does it feel right to you now as well?"

Erik frowned. "Just a moment." He smoothed the last for the metal into shape. "Whoa!" he said at the same time as Charles moaned, sending a small wave of pleasure through him.

"You alright, Charles?" McCoy asked worriedly.

Erik stared at Charles. "I think he's okay," he said drily. "Charles, please, you look like you're having an orgasm," he teased.

"This is brilliant," Charles exclaimed, ignoring Erik's comment.

Erik grinned. It wasn't a bad look on Charles.

"It's like hearing everything through a closed door and then someone suddenly opening the door and letting sound through," Charles tried to explain.

"Right, so it works, come back out so McCoy can finish this," Erik chided. He tried not to laugh at the twin looks of disappointment turned in his direction.

"Spoil sport," Charles muttered good naturedly as he gestured to McCoy to shut Cerebro down. He lifted the helmet off, and grinned at them both. "Job well done," he praised.

"You're welcome," Erik said drily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should go check on the danger room."

"It's a training room," McCoy muttered as he knelt down and began lining wires up and fitting them into place under various panels.

"Not the way we've decked it out," Erik said with a laugh.

"I'll stay and give Hank a hand," Charles said. "Thanks, Erik, your help has been invaluable through all this."

"It's what you pay me for," Erik said gruffly, feeling a sudden urge to escape the room.

The look Charles shot him told him Charles didn't exactly believe him either.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're a miracle worker," Charles said with a contented sigh as he sat down on the couch in Erik's office. "Your tweaking of Cerebro has made a hell of a difference, my friend," he continued. "I can now reach nearly twice as far and I'm not even feeling the strain."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "Did you ever overdo... of course you did," he corrected himself with a snort.

Charles shrugged, not even looking the least bit sorry. "It wasn't as if I could let anyone else test it."

Erik rolled his eyes. He was not even sure why Charles was in his office on this day, but he was past the point where he needed a reason. It seemed 'meetings in the city' would always be Charles excuse to swing by. Half of the time Erik figured he might also be hiding from his dear students and Raven.

The computer beeped at him and Erik turned back to it to see what the message was about. With a deep sigh, he shook his head and stood. "I have to go check something in one of the labs," he told Charles when the other man looked up from a file folder he was sitting with.

"Anyone blow anything up?" Charles asked, only half in jest. Of course, with some of the shenanigans in the labs Erik had told Charles about, he was only partly kidding.

"Not so far, but I should check on it just to be on the safe side," Erik replied. He took his phone and slipped it into his pocket. "I'll be right back," he said as he headed for the door. "I hope," he added with a small laugh.

"Don't worry," Charles waved him off. "I've got tea and plenty of papers to look through, I'll be here when you get back."

Erik smiled to himself as he shut the door behind him. No, strictly speaking there was no reason for Charles to swing by his office as often as he did, but Erik had grown to like the visits more and more with each one.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind and they did not return until he came back to the office, an hour later, cursing and swearing under his breath as he exited the elevator. He almost slammed his office door when he realized that Charles was no longer sitting on the couch, reading. His file folder had slipped to the floor and he was very obviously deeply asleep, stretched out on the couch.

Erik stopped the door just short of it slamming shut, using the metal of hinges, lock and handle to stall it. He did not move from where he stood for a moment, just allowed himself to look uninterrupted.

He took in the rumpled look of the suit, Charles was wearing, kind of missing seeing him in jeans and t-shirt, a sight he had been treated to a few times when he had visited the mansion. Not that Charles looked bad in a suit, just ...more serious and less... approachable.

Erik's office door swung open and Pepper walked in.

"Ms. Potts?" Erik turned to her, keeping his voice low.

She stopped and it was possibly the first time ever that Erik had seen her indecisive.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lehnsherr, but I thought, maybe," she began.

Erik spotted the folded blanket she was holding. He dipped his head a little, but judging by her widening smile, he had not managed to keep his face neutral. He did not even manage to say anything, before she stepped forward and pressed the blanket against his chest, letting go of it. Erik reacted automatically and caught it, staring at her.

"You keep a fairly low temperature in your office," she said quietly, turned around and opened the door.

"Ms. Potts?" Erik called out, carefully not raising his voice too much.

"Mr. Lehnsherr?" She stopped at the door, turning to meet his eyes.

"Thank you," Erik said, meaning it as he stepped back towards the couch, unfolding the blanket.

"There's no need for thanks," Potts said with a soft laugh. "You are a cranky bastard on a good day, but you're a lot more tolerable when you're around him."

Erik almost shot back 'Am not!' but stopped himself just in time. Because that would just have been childish. "Don't tell anyone," he said instead. "I have a reputation to uphold."

She shot him a look that clearly said it all and left the room, closing the door soundlessly behind her.

Erik turned back to the couch and folded the blanket down over Charles' prone body. He looked so tired, like he hadn't been sleeping enough lately. Considering that Erik had seen him go at the mountains of paperwork that apparently was needed before opening a school, he wasn't terribly surprised.

Of course this meant he was going to let Charles sleep for as long as possible.

Turning to go back to his desk, Erik stopped, cocked his head to the side and tried to figure out where the buzzing noise was coming from. He headed back over to the couch and slipped two fingers into Charles' jacket pocket, fishing out a mobile phone that was vibrating like crazy.

Erik checked the call ID and picked up the call. "He's sleeping," he said quietly into the phone, sitting down on the couch to pull the blanket up a little higher.

There was a moment of silence on the other end then Alex' voice greeted him. _"Charles told me to pick him up at your work when he messaged me,"_ Alex said, _"but there's been a bit of a delay."_

Erik watched as Charles muttered something and rubbed his face against the couch cushion. "It's okay, I think he needs the sleep considering he's completely gone," Erik said.

Alex made an odd noise. _"Word of warning, Mr. Lehnsherr,"_ he said, _"he'll have the hell of a headache when he wakes up. He always does." ___

Erik frowned. "Always?"

 _"It's okay, but he's been dealing with bureaucratic assholes all day, and the stress pushes his shields to their limit,"_ Alex explained.

"Alright," Erik agreed, backing down. He was developing a worrying protective streak when it came to Charles. Normally Erik would shun company. He had not been lying when he had said to Stark that he did not work well with others. Even with Tony it had taken a while. Watching the sleep softened look on Charles' face, Erik allowed himself a small smile. He probably should have seen it coming. He'd seen the physical attraction from the beginning. If Charles had continued to be a rich moron, then that attraction would have met a swift and violent death. But with all the time Erik had spent with Charles... "So, what do you suggest I do? I thought I'd let him sleep."

 _"Which is a great idea,"_ Alex agreed. _"I'm leaving in about half an hour, but with traffic and all, it'll take at least an hour to get to you."_

"I've got plenty to do and it's not like he's in the way on the couch," Erik told him. 

_"Thanks,"_ Alex said softly, _"we all appreciate what you're doing."_

Erik felt his face flush but did not manage to reply before Alex told him good bye and hung up. He put Charles phone back into his pocket and reluctantly made his escape back to the desk. Every few minutes, he would look up to see that Charles was still asleep.

Burying himself in work again, Erik was aware of a contented hum at the back of his head. At first it confused him, then he realized that he recognized the presence. Apparently Charles was exhausted enough to let his shields down. Or maybe he just did not shield as much when he was sleeping. Erik had no way of knowing as he had never slept with... Erik stopped that train of thought and shook his head with a soft smile. He had to wonder if he ever would get the chance to know for himself.

Much to his surprise, or maybe less so, when he thought about it, it was something he would very much like to explore further.

When Erik looked up about half an hour later, the buzz in the back of his mind died down and he watched Charles sit up, wiping at the corner of his mouth. A move that should not be half as endearing as it was.

"Sorry about that," Charles said, looking a little sleep flushed, but by far a better look than the run down one he had been wearing when Erik had first seen him that day.

"Don't be," Erik said evenly, "you obviously needed it," he added drily. It should have been unsettling how much at ease he felt around Charles, but Erik couldn't bring himself to care all that much about it.

"Apparently I did," Charles admitted with a small laugh that turned into a wince.

"Headache?" Erik guessed, since Alex had already warned him.

Charles made an affirmative noise.

Erik stood and walked over to his mini fridge to get a bottle of water. After a second thought, he backtracked to his desk and pulled out a small blister of painkillers from his top desk drawer. He continued over to the couch and sat down next to Charles, offering the pills.

"Oh yes, please," Charles all but breathed.

Erik dipped his head to hide a small smile, handing over the pills before he twisted the top off the bottle. Without thinking about it, he put his free hand on Charles shoulder, letting him take the bottle a moment later. While swallowing the pills and chasing them down with the cold water, he seemed to lean into Erik's touch and Erik gently kneaded the tendon between shoulder and neck, feeling the heat of Charles' skin under the white shirt.

Charles made a small appreciative noise and set the bottle down on the table, pushing his shoulder into Erik's hand.

"Oh my," he breathed, at first obviously holding back but when Erik threw caution to the wind and pulled him closer to get a better grip, he was rewarded with Charles almost melting into the touch, leaning sideways until his head was resting against Erik's shoulder.

Erik was caught between surprise of Charles' trust in him and his own complete lack of resistance. However, he could not stop with Charles so obviously needing it. He wondered if Charles was touch starved, considering the way he was leaning into Erik. He moved his fingers up through Charles hair, using both his hands, rubbing the tips of his fingers against Charles' scalp, feeling the tension slowly drain out as he moved to rub the temples gently.

Charles muttered something and rubbed his face against Erik's shoulder, probably not even conscious of what he was doing. The hum in the back of Erik's mind was back, even more content than before.

"That bad a day, huh?" Erik said, finding that tending to Charles like this actually seemed to drain any stress out of himself as well.

"It's a lot of paperwork to start a school, and you have to deal with a lot of dicks. The bigger the dicks, the bigger the headache," Charles muttered, his breath warm through Erik's shirt.

A thought stirred in Erik's mind and he frowned. "Have you even been sleeping much since returning to the States?" he asked, halfway knowing the answer already.

"Probably not half as much as I should have," Charles admitted.

Erik made a noncommittal noise. "I'm not judging you," he said quickly, "I take my share of workaholism on occasion, but..."

"I know," Charles replied, "I know."

They sat quiet for a few more minutes, then Charles leaned back a little, finally looking up. His face had a healthier hue and his cheeks were a little flushed. Erik dipped his head a fraction of an inch, before he could stop himself. Blood rushed faster when Charles's eyes dropped to his mouth.

"Can't" Erik muttered, "You're a client," he tried to explain, no matter how much he wanted to close the distance between them.

"Mmm," Charles mumbled, but he made no move to distance himself either.

"Erik!"

Charles jerked back a little, but Erik just rolled his eyes and steadied him. "What have I said about knocking, Tony?" he asked.

"That it's something people, not me, should do?" Tony replied cheekily, leaning against the now open office door. "Hi, Charles," he said with a nod of the head.

Charles shot him a small smile. "Tony."

Erik made an annoyed noise, but he let his hand rest on Charles' shoulders. "Alex is on his way," he said, reluctantly letting go of him - all the while ignoring his boss.

"Did I interrupt anything?" Tony asked nosily.

"Of course you did," Erik said, giving Charles a small smile, partly shielding him from view, allowing him to find his footing.

_'Thank you, Erik.'_

Erik allowed himself a small smile and pushed his contentment at Charles. He heard the quick intake of breath and wondered why he kept doing this when he had just told Charles that they could not take it any further.

Of course, any project would end and where he had been sad to see it end before, suddenly he could not finish it quickly enough.

"I need your help in the private lab when you have a moment," Tony said diplomatically - or as diplomatically as Tony Stark was capable of.

"Go on," Charles said, when Erik turned back to him. "I'll just wait for Alex in the lobby."

"Stay here," Erik replied, although did not normally like people in his office when he could not keep an eye on them. "At least be comfy and I'll have the guard let you know when Alex gets here."

"I'll know anyway," Charles replied with a wink, tapping his temple.

Erik grinned at him. "Alright," he agreed. Turning his head he shot Tony an annoyed look. "I'll come see what you need me for, just give me a moment, okay?"

"Sure," Tony said, already stepping back out of the office, engrossed in whatever it was on the tablet he had been waving at Erik a moment before.

Erik stood and gave Charles a hand up. He met his slightly worried eyes. "If you want to...," Erik began, then trailed off. "I mean, go out for a drink, dinner," he shrugged, "just... when we're done with this project and you're no longer a client," he added quickly. He felt more than a little out of his depth.

The tension around Charles's eyes eased visibly and he gave Erik a soft smile and a nod. "Sounds good."

"Erik!"

"Tony's getting impatient," Charles said, not making any indication he was moving away from Erik.

"Tony was born impatient," Erik muttered.

"Be good," Charles scolded, but amusement lit his eyes. "And we're having a date the same night this project is officially closed." With that he leaned in, stretching up to brush his lips over Erik's.

At Erik's raised eyebrow, Charles just shrugged and smiled. "Consider it an IOU."

Erik bit his lower lip for a moment, then nodded slowly. He couldn't quite take his eyes off Charles mouth and because they had finally attempted addressing this... thing between them, he could admit to himself at least that he liked watching them.

"You better go see what Tony wants," Charles prompted him, a small laugh escaping him.

Perfectly time there was another shout from Tony.

"I'll make him eat that damned suit," Erik grumbled and gave Charles one last longing look.

"When we're done," Charles reminded him.

Erik snorted and gave him an affirmative nod before tearing after Tony just in case the man had gotten bored and started on some new insane ideas. Best keep him busy with the current designs.

He caught up with him at the elevator and slipped silently inside. Of course the silence was broken the moment the elevator doors closed and Tony had keyed in the access code that would allow them to access the lab in question.

"I thought you didn't like Charles," Tony said, grinning at Erik as he leaned back against the glass wall of the elevator.

"He's not as annoying as I first had expected," Erik replied neutrally. For all that he knew, Tony might not like him dating Charles.

"No, I can tell," Tony said with a laugh, "the two of you were..."

"Tony," Erik said with a sigh, snagging the tablet to have something to do besides from being grilled by Tony. "What have I said about my love life and your nose?"

Tony was quiet for a moment, and Erik realized his choice of words.

"To keep it out, but Christ, Erik," Tony began, staring at him in surprise. "Not that I'm not thrilled on your behalf, but..."

Erik knew what Tony would say. "I know, we've already agreed to wait with anything until the project has been closed," Erik cut him off. "And..." Erik took a deep breath, "I think we're doing this properly."

Tony watched him silently.

"Don't get weird about this, Tony," Erik said, feeling tired.

"I'm not," Tony said, shaking his head, a small smile quirking his lips. "I just never thought I'd see the day you would sound so serious about anyone and this someone happens to be a friend of mine." Tony frowned. "Please don't have a messy break up," he said, "because you're both friends of mine and it would be awkward."

Erik shrugged. "Can't make any promises." But he was dead set on making it work.

Tony nodded. "I'm just saying."

Erik looked down at the tablet and nodded. "I know," he replied. And thankfully, that seemed to be it.

Tony pushed away from the wall as the elevator came to a halt. "This is going to be so good," he beamed, pointing at the tablet, before striding out of the elevator.

Erik blinked at the specifics on the tablet and sighed. Time to play babysitter and limit any collateral damage.

**--**--**

"I hate my sister," Charles moaned, letting himself fall back on Erik's couch.

Erik didn't even look up from his monitor. "Is that why you're hiding out in my office?" he asked. "Again?"

Charles got back up from the couch and walked over to him, rounding the desk to lean against Erik's back. "I'm here because I like seeing you whenever I can."

Erik allowed himself a small smile. He lifted his hand and rested it on top of Charles' arm, currently folded across his chest. "You love her," he said with a small laugh. Raven, well, all the kids, really, had grown on Erik too. They were bright and eager and seeming wouldn't let anything hold them back.

"Of course I do," Charles admitted, nuzzling against the back of Erik's neck.

"Don't start anything we shouldn't be doing," Erik warned, feeling his blood rush a little faster. He and Charles had agreed, and they had more or less managed to keep their acquaintance just that, casual. Well, apart from once or twice where an affectionate peck on the cheek had turned into half a make out session.

Erik had never given the term 'blue balls' much thought. He was normally too busy burying himself in work to notice his sex drive. Thanks to Charles, though, he now probably masturbated about as often as most average teenage boys did. It was ridiculous when even a late evening phone conversation with Charles could get him in the mood.

"I know," Charles said huskily, breath hot against Erik's ear. "Sorry," he finally said, stepping back and letting go of Erik with a reluctant pat to his shoulder.

Drawing a deep breath, Erik shook his head. "It's alright," he said evenly.

"It has to be," Charles said and made a face as he walked back to the couch. "I should head back to Westchester before we really forget ourselves," he said with a small laugh.

Erik grinned.

**--**--**

"So, you and Charles..." Tony began.

"I don't care which date you've placed your bet on," Erik interrupted him, pushing the plate armor of the suit a little harder into place than strictly necessary, making Tony stagger a little.

"Sexual frustration can be hazardous to your health," Tony told him, rolling his shoulders to test the suit's fit.

"We are not dating or doing anything but carrying on a professional acquaintance until the project is done," Erik said with a snort.

"Aw man," Tony whined. "That means Pepper'll win the jackpot."

"Don't tell me she's the only one who has faith in me?" Erik said, rolling his eyes.

"I just don't get how you can ignore your urges so easily," Tony muttered.

Erik stopped what he was doing for a moment. "I'm not ignoring them," he admitted, "but I have to admit there's a certain allure in a long, slow buildup."

Tony just stared at him, then grinned widely. "I guess I won't be seeing you for a few days when this project's signed over."

Erik just grinned widely, all teeth and little sincerity.

Then Tony made a face. "I really didn't need to know that, you know."

"Then stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong," Erik said meanly, tugging at another plate hard enough to make Tony's knee's buckle.

**--**--**

Erik looked down at his phone. He was caught somewhere between laughing and combusting spontaneously. It was 6AM, he'd just rolled out of bed and on this very fine Wednesday morning, he knew for sure that the Greymalkin Lane project would be officially done by noon and the papers signed and handed over.

Of course that meant it had been four months since Charles and he had agreed to try dating from this very day, and if he had expected to have less of an attraction to the man after four months of not looking at anyone else (which Erik did rarely anyway), he had been mistaken. Actually, he felt it like a mixture of joy and utter fear, but then again, he'd never really dated much, had never really given another person that much of his time and attention.

Also, he had learned over the four months that Charles played dirty, so the absolutely filthy message on his phone at 6AM really should not have come as a surprise.

Erik shook his head and rubbed his eyes, going about his morning routine and making coffee before he even so much as considered answering the message. Of course he re-read it a couple of times, thinking about what he'd answer back.

In the end, sitting at his kitchen table, he typed in _'Do you kiss your sister with that mouth?'_

 _'No, but I plan to kiss you with it'_ came the message a moment later.

Erik rolled his eyes. _'Well, tonight we're going out, we have a dinner reservation and I intend to show you a very lovely time.'_

_'In bed?_

Erik grinned. _'If you behave yourself, of course.'_

His phone fell quiet a moment later and Erik wondered what the other man was up to now. He drank the rest of his coffee, and got ready to leave for work. He would swing by the office for the paperwork and then head out to Westchester to hand it over. The fun part would be seeing if Charles could stick to their plan and actually wait until they had been out for dinner in the evening.

Erik wasn't sure whether or not he wanted him to. Quite frankly it had been almost fun with the constant tension between them. The constant knowledge that all that stood between them was this assignment.

The fun of the game, the thrill of the hunt. Erik grinned toothily and his phone went off again. Although this time it was ringing, instead of the sound of a text message.

 _"Hello Erik,"_ Charles said sugary sweet.

"Hello Charles," Erik greeted, trying hard not to laugh out loud. He could feel the rush of knowing why Charles was calling him.

 _"To answer your question,"_ Charles said evenly, _"I can be very well behaved when I put my mind to it."_

Erik swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as a desert.

 _"I'll be so well behaved you won't know what hit you,"_ Charles continued. _"I'll do everything you want me to, you can command me to do anything to you. I'll kneel at your feet and..."_ Charles stopped and there was a strange noise in the background.

Erik pressed the heel of his hand against his crotch, cursing the other man.

_"Raven! Why didn't you knock?"_

Erik pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, and then started laughing, because there was nothing funnier than listening to suave Charles Xavier completely losing face in front of his younger sister.

 _"And you, shut up,"_ Charles growled when he returned to the phone. _"Just for that, I'm going to wine and dine you tonight, and when we drive back to_ your _place afterwards in the limo, I'm going to screw you cross-eyed in the back and you'll_ like _it."_

"Charles," Erik said softly, taking a deep breath to get himself back under control "There was never any doubt about me liking you and everything you can imagine doing to me, I think I can promise I'll enjoy it."

Charles was quiet for a moment. _"How is it you can drain the dirty out of a conversation and make it so sweet?"_ he asked breathlessly.

Erik could have sworn he heard some noise in the background. "She's making retching noises, isn't she?" he asked drily.

 _"You should be glad you don't have an obnoxious sister,"_ Charles said with a sigh.

"You love her," Erik said with a grin as he pocketed his wallet and picked his keys off the hook in the hallway with a flick of the wrist. "And tonight, when we've had a nice dinner, with wine and conversation, we'll be back at my place with no meddling sisters." Erik wasn't stupid - he knew perfectly well why Charles had wanted to head back to his place after dinner. It wasn't simply because of the shorter distance. As much as Charles loved the kids and Erik had grown rather fond of them, they were _very_ nosy.

 _"Yeah,"_ Charles mumbled. He obviously figured the mood had been ruined.

"Charles, I'm on my way over to the office to pick up the last of the papers, and I'm handing them over to you in a few hours," Erik said, almost feeling giddy.

Charles chuckled, a warm and soft sound through the phone. _"I know, and it's brilliant, not just because it'll leave you and I free to... well,"_ Charles trailed off.

Erik grinned as he took the elevator down from his apartment to the parking garage underneath the building. He could well imagine the flushed look on Charles face. It was a cause of never-ending amusement and surprise to Erik that a man who was so free with his affection and who could talk dirty with the best of them, could also be completely stopped in his tracks and look like a nervous virgin on his wedding night.

**--**--**

Erik had no idea how he made it through the day. He arrived at the mansion just before noon, not because it was a terribly long drive, but because, of course, there had been a cock-up in one of the labs. Some days Erik wondered how it was that the Stark labs were still intact because the employees definitely did theirs to try and blow it up. Well, half of the time of course, it was Tony with his crazy, if brilliant ideas.

He walked through the quiet hallways, out onto the back of the mansion, feeling Charles in his mind drawing him in the right direction. The workers he had vetted himself for the project had cleared away the last of the detritus from their work and Erik felt even more proud than he normally would at a job well done. This place would be learning ground for mutants like himself and he envied them the help they would have.

 _'If you want private lessons, just let me know,'_ Charles told him and even his mental voice had that come-to-bed quality to it.

Erik just grinned and pushed the thrill of expectation back to Charles. The rush he got back nearly made him trip over his own feet.

Outside the bright sunlight greeted him and he smiled to himself as he walked over to where Charles was standing, having a quiet conversation with Alex and Raven. Charles shot him a wide grin when he looked up and waved him over.

Erik held up the folder he had brought with him. "This is it," he said, "that's the project done, signed, sealed and," he put it in Charles' hand, letting their fingers brush lightly, "delivered."

"We're all impressed," Raven said with a laugh.

"Yeah, when the professor and Hank first started drawing up the ideas the rest of us thought they were insane," Alex added.

Charles just stared up at him for a moment, then nodded slowly, a soft smile lighting up his face. "I have to admit I had my doubts on occasion too," he said. "I don't think I was sure this would work until Tony introduced you to me. By the time you agreed to do this I was a lot surer about the outcome being perfect."

Raven made a gagging noise and Alex appeared as if he wasn't sure where to look.

"More like you nearly screwed it up by trying to get into his pants," Raven said drily.

Charles glared at her and Erik tried hard not to laugh.

"She's got you there," Erik said evenly. "You did come on a little strong."

"I did, didn't I?" Charles said, his voice going soft, while he curled his fingers around Erik's still holding the folder. Tugging lightly he made Erik take a step forward until they were about as close as they could get with their hands between them. "I'm just glad you gave me a second chance."

"Oh god, I think I'm gonna retch," Alex groaned.

"Let's go before we see something we'll need brain bleach for," Raven said with a snort. "There's been enough UST for the last couple of months to power all of Westchester for the rest of the year."

Erik ignored them. He had grown so used to being around them that he knew none of the them minded. He'd fielded a lot of hints from Raven in the beginning for him to make a move on Charles and put her brother out of his misery. He'd taken it as far as actually explaining why neither of them were going to do anything until the project was done.

"I'm going to head back to the office, check up on a few other projects and then I'll head home, have a shower and be ready for you at 7PM," Erik said quietly, barely noticing that Raven dragged Alex back inside the mansion. He grinned when he picked up the mental image from Charles. "I've already promised I'd wear the suit," he said.

"Uh-huh," Charles replied, licking his lips, eyes bright with amusement and arousal.

Erik winked and maneuvered his hands out of Charles' grip, leaving him holding the folder only. The look of disappointment on Charles face made his blood rush a little faster. "Just a few hours," he said quietly, stepping forward again, framing Charles' face with his hands. "Consider this a down payment on what I'll let you do to me in the limo," he said with a small, breathless chuckle, feeling utterly reckless. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to Charles'.

Charles sighed against his mouth, parting his lips and deepening the kiss.

Erik was lost for a moment, forgetting himself completely. Then he realized where he was and what they were doing. "Charles," he muttered against his lips, "we're supposed to be doing this the right way."

Charles laughed, his breath tickling against Erik's lips.

Finally stepping back, Erik drew a deep breath. "I'll see you tonight, then," he said, after letting it out slowly.

"Oh yes," Charles said, shifting his stance.

Erik grinned as he knew Charles was as physically affected as he was and the walk back to the car would be... interesting. At least he could hope that he would be able to avoid running into any of the kids.

"You'd want to go now," Charles said softly, "first of all, they're all in the kitchen, second if you don't, I'm not going to let you."

Erik allowed him to see just how much he was enjoying himself and then he turned and walked away, back through the house.

 _'You tease,'_ Charles laughed in his mind.

Erik just grinned wider and enjoyed that he could feel Charles' appreciation of his ...assets.

**--**--**

"Fuck," Charles muttered, trying to get his hand inside Erik's pants while Erik was busy unlocking his front door. "You've been an absolute tease in that suit all night," he panted against the back of Erik's neck.

"No more than you," Erik said with a laugh, feeling the slight buzz he'd gotten from the wine Charles had insisted on for dinner. Not to mention the anticipation of continuing what they had started in the limo on the way back from the restaurant.

"We didn't really get half as far in the limo as I'd hoped," Charles moaned against Erik's neck. Another puff of breath hit Erik's skin just before Charles licked the spot above his collar.

"Charles," Erik said with a laugh, giving up on his key and just using his powers to open the door. He twisted around and manhandled Charles inside. "Charles," he repeated, just enjoying how the name rolled off his tongue.

Charles stopped for a moment, plastered against Erik's front, looking up at him. "Would you mind terribly if I sucked you off? I've been thinking about it all day."

Erik swore his mind shorted out for a moment. "Bed," he croaked, suddenly feeling as if his skin was too small to contain him. "We're doing this right, not in the middle of my hallway."

Charles whimpered when Erik all but dragged him through the living room, heading for the bedroom. He searched for the metal of the front door and slammed it shut, swinging the bedroom door open in the same move.

"You feel amazing when you do that," Charles breathed, undoing Erik's tie, his shirt, pushing both shirt and jacket down over Erik's shoulders. He made an annoyed sound when it turned out he'd forgotten to undo the cufflinks.

Erik laughed breathlessly. "Calm down, Charles, it's not a race!" He worked the cufflinks open without using his hands, fighting to stay upright as Charles, obviously impatient, began sucking and licking his way across Erik's collarbone.

Finally managing to get his hands free, Erik held onto Charles, pulling him back up for a kiss while divesting him of his jacket, and shirt one handedly. Pushing him back, he watched Charles bouncing up and down on the bed, a surprised yelp torn from his lips.

"There'll be plenty of time later," Erik promised him as he undid Charles' pants and pulled them down and off, dragging socks and shoes with them. He stared down at him, watching his chest rise and fall in quick succession. Charles was a bit shorter than he was, but very well proportioned and Erik allowed himself to just enjoy the view for a moment. It didn't hurt when Charles grinned widely and shimmied out of his briefs. Very well proportioned, indeed.

Erik put a knee on the bed, but Charles lifted a leg and put a foot in the middle of his chest.

"You're still wearing far too many clothes," Charles told him.

Grinning, Erik closed his hand around Charles' ankle and rubbed the pad of his thumb against the tendon at the back, enjoying the fact that Charles's eyes fluttered closed. Quickly, he undid his pants and pushed them down, along with his boxers, still kneeling on the bed, letting Charles' leg take some of his weight.

"Stand up for a moment so I can see you?" Charles asked breathlessly.

Erik did as he was asked, not one to ever feel conscious about the way he looked, even naked.

Charles leg dropped back onto the bed and he stared openmouthed at Erik. "I knew when I groped it in the limo that it would be nice and big, but damn, you're well-built all the way through, aren't you?"

Not quite knowing what to say to that, Erik merely grinned and kicked his trousers off, taking the shoes off as well, and quickly getting rid of his socks. Stopping short of getting back on the bed, he stared down at Charles. It was obvious that Charles was enjoying then attention, and Erik could feel his own arousal going up a notch, taking him from the half hard state he'd been in on and off for the past few hours to fully erect.

Charles reached up, gesturing for him to join him on the bed. "What are you waiting for, a gilded invitation?"

Shaking his head, Erik crawled up onto the bed, a knee on either side of Charles' legs, bracing himself above him.

Charles reached up and hooked his hands behind Erik's neck, then he slid them down over Erik's shoulders, around his pecks and down along his sides.

Erik shivered at the touch, having been thinking about it for the past four months. Skin to skin, nothing between them.

"It's been a long four months," Charles agreed, cupping his hips and tugging lightly. "What are you doing up there? Come on down."

Lifting one leg up and pushing his knee down between Charles', Erik did just that, breathing a little faster as he covered Charles' body with his own, skin to skin, feeling the heat from him and choking out a moan as their erections brushed, then sighed contentedly as he moved to push against Charles' thigh, letting him take most of his weight. 

"You feel so good," Charles mumbled breathlessly, eyes wide and pupils blown and Erik could do nothing but cover his mouth and suck on his tongue. Which in turn only made Charles shake and writhe against him even more, every move creating the most brilliant friction.

Charles slipped his hands down to cup Erik's ass and urged him into a rhythm he was only too happy to follow. The sweat on their skin made the slide easier, as did the pre-come. Charles arched up, Erik pushed down, rolling his hips lazily, the move absolutely maddening.

Erik lost himself in the taste of Charles, of the rush he could feel as Charles bled through his shields, let his hands roam over every inch of skin he could touch. He slid a hand down to cup one glorious ass cheek as Charles wrapped his leg around the back of Erik's thighs.

Barely noticing his own climax building, Erik pushed at Charles' shields, pulling and pushing until all he was aware of in the world was Charles' naked body under his own, the slide of skin on skin as they moved, Charles' conscience in and around his own.

"Oh," Charles breathed into his mouth, a muffled cry escaping him while Erik felt the strange overlay of Charles' climax, the wetness as he came, the rush in his mind, his own release and the echoed joy from Charles.

"Oh, my," Charles breathed moments later, clinging to Erik, who had collapsed on top of him, barely able to catch his own breath, his body feeling heavy and sated, "I'm sorry about that," Charles mumbled.

"'bout wha?" Erik managed to get out.

"I tried not to bleed mentally all over you," Charles whispered. "I tried staying in my own mind..."

"Don't be," Erik said, nuzzling Charles' ear, the sweat damp hair curling around the shell. "I'm not sorry you let go like this." And he wasn't. It had been a fantastic experience, feeling how much Charles had been enjoying himself, how much he had been and still was enjoying Erik.

Charles went quiet for a moment, then stroked his fingers lightly back and forth over Erik's lower back. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?" he asked, his voice soft and barely audible.

"I'd say that makes us a perfect match," Erik said with a grin, biting into Charles' earlobe. A move that only earned him a snort and a smack to his ass. "Shower?" Not that he was planning on moving anytime soon.

"Later," Charles said, turning his head at the same time as Erik lifted up a little, busying himself with kissing until they were ready for another round. Or a shower. Whichever came first.

**--**--**

Epilogue:

Tony looked down at his mobile and frowned. He noticed that Steve was looming at his side and knew the man could read the message over his shoulder. Tony wasn't short, as such, but compared to Steve? A fucking dwarf, was what he was. It was a Friday, just before noon and the message he was reading in the middle of a meeting was from Erik, so the risk of it being anything secret was pretty unlikely.

_I'm skipping out of work early today._

Tony frowned and typed in his reply quickly, not caring that Fury was droning on and on about something about state secrets. _Where's the workaholic I know and love and what am I paying you for again?_ With all the work Tony had been doing with SHIELD lately, he had thrust more of his normal workload at Erik.

Between him and Pepper, the company was doing as well, if not better than it had been in ages.

The phone vibrated again. _Let me rephrase this._ And Tony could literally hear the annoyance coming off Erik. _I am going to go home early so I can spend the weekend screwing my boyfriend. If you don't agree, I'll just do it in your office, on your desk instead._

Tony could not help the snort escaping him and he was well aware that everyone was now quiet and watching him with varying levels of annoyance. He turned his head and found Steve giving him a flushed look, obviously having read the second message.

Such a boy scout, but Tony kind of liked the wholesome, sweet, if slightly naive guy. He was beginning to understand why Erik had been so fucking besotted with Charles. Of course, six month should have been more than enough to get past the honeymoon phase. Not that walking in on them in Erik's office was bad, as such. They definitely made a hot couple.

"Just for once," Tony said with a sigh, offering Steve a small smile, "I would like an employee who'd just play hooky and not share with me his intentions towards his boyfriend in intimate detail."

The end

**Author's Note:**

> The t-shirt Charles is wearing is [this one](http://www.snorgtees.com/dna-helicase).  
> ("If I were an enzyme I would be DNA helicase so I could unzip Your genes")  
> Anyone who wonders about Erik in a suit, go chase down Fassy's GQ Britain shots. Seriously.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Building Bridges 筑梦者](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542963) by [Analgisia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Analgisia/pseuds/Analgisia)




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